Pesticide and hormone-free products often have a premium price tag, meaning that organic food can seem like a luxury for anyone on a tight budget. But there are ways to buy good food without draining your bank account.

Craig Minowa, environmental scientist with the Organic Consumers Association, offers these tips:

• Learn to buy big – Many health-food stores have bulk sections, and if you fill a bag with organic cereal, you may end up paying less for it than you would for the nonorganic variety
• Form a buying club – If a bunch of people pool their grocery lists, they can often special-order directly with the store

Sarah Bratnober, communications director at the Organic Valley Family of Farms, advises:

• Follow the 80/20 rule — 80 percent of the benefits come from 20 percent of the purchases; think about what your family eats the most of, and make sure that those products are organic

Barbara Houmann, spokeswoman for the Organic Trade Association, says:

• Buy fruits and vegetables in season — you’ll save money by focusing on what’s easily available

If you do manage to get more organic into your diet, you won’t regret it. Organic produce isn’t just healthy and better for the environment, it tastes better, too.

According to scientists, watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels, and may even increase libido.

Natural, beneficial ingredients in fruits and vegetables are known as phyto-nutrients. In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and citrulline. Among the benefits of citrulline is the ability to relax blood vessels, much as Viagra does.

When watermelon is consumed, citrulline is converted to arginine. Arginine is an amino acid that has beneficial effects on the heart and circulation system, and maintains a good immune system. Arginine also boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has.

Arginine also helps the urea cycle by removing ammonia and other toxic compounds from your body.

Artificial dyes are used in sugary cereals, candies, sodas and other products marketed toward children. Sometimes artificial dyes are even used to simulate the colors of fruits and vegetables.

While U.S. consumers regularly ingest these additives in their food, they have been removed from the same foods in some other countries. British consumers have revolted against artificial food dyes in the U.K., but American protests have not been as widespread.

Two recent British studies found that certain food dyes, as well as the common preservative sodium benzoate, may have an adverse effect on some children’s behavior. Researchers said the increase in ADHD diagnoses could be partly to blame on the preservative.